Diversification Of Incense Industry, A Need Of The Hour – Pawan Kumar Agarwal

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, Head of Aromatika Inc. and Bhagwati Sales, believes— Business in the incense industry is straightforward today. He says “, this industry is for all, be it a top corporate, local manufacturer or supplier.” Engaging in a conversation with Sugandh India, Mr. Agarwal informed “, a marginal increase of five to ten per cent in worshippers is observed. They will not help in growing this industry. Manufacturers have to cash new trends.” He spoke about the significance of exploring new aroma product lines. He stated that; unless manufacturers, distributors and suppliers don’t understand the need to explore and expand to different and new aroma-based products, this industry will stagnate.

Pawan entered this business in 1993 through Jaipur-based Bhagwati Sales. He looks after distribution of products made by Bengaluru-based Srinivasa Sugandhalaya and Bhaluka Seva Trust in India and overseas. Describing Srinivasa Sugandhalaya Pawan informed, “, They are the first to export masala agarbatti.” He added “, They have contributed to creating a niche and a name for Indian-made dhoop and agarbattis in overseas markets. They are six decades in the incense industry.”

Talking about his business operations. Pawan said “, He holds the Srinivasa Sugandhalaya franchisee for North India. He also is their exporter. He carries out his domestic and exports operations from Jaipur and part of export from Delhi. He has a huge distribution network.” Adding a pinch to his franchiser, Pawan said “, Srinivasa Sugandhalaya is too pricey for the domestic markets since they are exceptional in all senses. That gives me a privilege exporting their novelties.” The Aromatika owner has 1200+ products under his belt from; dhoops. agarbattis, cones, dry sticks and a plethora of other products. A bulk of his produce is exported. Europe and especially France are the cash-rich market.

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi NCR are the principal domestic markets. They are gearing up to span other markets in the south and east by next year. “Mausam was the first Aromatika Inc. brand I launched in 1995. By 2009 Aromatika began exporting,” informed Pawan. He further said, “ Aromatika began curating unique aromatic products for export markets namely; incense resin, aroma oil, aroma candel, etc.” Asserting his statement Pawan added “, Well… all these couldn’t be possible unless backed up through intensive research & design.”

“France generates the bulk of orders in Europe for Aromatika. Our aromatic products are unmatched there and everywhere we export. The reason is clear. Our raw materials are natural. We go by the tagline “Nature’s Love”, we have put nature’s love in our products in form of fragrance. The spices and essential oils that we use are natural and high-grade. We believe that when one uses cheap quality raw material in their products, it affects consumer’s health as when one burns incense, the chemicals spread and affect others around” said Pawan.  Interesting to note: Their product pricing doesn’t go over the top. Domestic products are priced in the range of ₹5 to ₹150 and, export quality ranges from ₹20 to ₹400. The company plans to add more products to their existing entourage and distributors.

Gujarat and Maharashtra demand quality products in tonnes whereas, for Bihar, West Bengal and Assam quality does not supersede quantity. Rajasthan is a market for the common and the ordinary. However, supplies are huge. The state of U.P. is a mix of both.  Remarking on U.P. he said “, Cycle, Padmini and Parimal’s premium range are popular. That in a way adds healthy competition. Our family members in Kanpur and Ranchi are in business for generations. They aid in propagating our brands in U.P.” Pricing has always been a tricky issue. Dealing with rising prices of raw materials, taxes and other unavoidable costs requires a lot of endurance. Arbitrarily changes in customer choices and behaviours over incense brands make running the business all the more challenging.

Commenting on the pricing issue Pawan said “, Fifty years ago, the price of one agarbatti packet was 5₹. This hasn’t changed today. The challenge industry faces today is balancing production cost with MRP.  On the other hand, the premium brands faces the issue of balancing the MRP without reducing the quality. The challenge is to run within the thin line of cost and price over standard quality. “This is the reason why exporting one’s goods is like; reaching the moon! Not all manufacturers attempt it. Moreover, exports are stringent on quality and international standards,” retorted Pawan. Clarifying his stand, he remarked “, Government has taken prompt steps in banning imports of bamboo and other raw materials from China and Vietnam which have been positive for the trade but the industry needs to work on itself on what is good for the industry on a braoder scale. We have all the required raw material within the country. Importing raw materials only leads to filling pockets of other countries which is why government banned imports. This greatly affected the industry initially but it could have been avoided if were not heavily dependant on imports. There are various challenges which the industry should tackle as early as possible.”

Sugandh India wanted to know about the damages done by the pandemic: to which he replied “, Global aroma industry didn’t seem to be affected. However, domestic dhoop and agarbatti markets were grievously affected. but that too the local stores and physical shops as the online business boomed and whoever wasnt selling online faced major loss”

He stated “,Today there is an influx of manufacturers and the supply is more than the demand. Agarbattia nd dhoop products are only used for worship and this has made the market stagnant.  To break the jinx, manufacturers and distributors should explore new-age usage of incense products. The focus, in my view, must be to expand the aroma sector from just using agarbatti for worship to use of aroma and incense products as room frensheners.”